Keep Youth Interacting

STEM activities are engaging, interactive and hands on experiences for youth. But what happens when members of a group are not interacting? In this video, pay close attention to how the facilitators work with a group if members become disengaged. Listen to the supportive but firm voice of the adult, as she re-directs the group. Pay special attention to how staff listen, maintain a supportive attitude, and model effective collaboration skills.
Research suggests: Frontline staff and volunteers provide opportunities for youth to teach and learn from each other. (4-H Science Competency Training Guide)

Now that you've watched the video, reflect on what you saw and post your responses.

Encouraging the youth to understand that each group member's ideas are just as important as their own and that they have to be open to suggestions and be willing to accept suggestions and criticism so that they can successfully tackle the objectives of the project.

Disengagement from group members, especially when one group member is controlling the situation and dictating the course of the the project, reluctance from the less vocal group members where they feel their ideas may not be good enough, dissatisfaction with the end product due to the lack of positive collaboration efforts.

The staff used open-ended questions to engage the quieter group members and asking them for their opinions? The staff made it a point that they needed to collaborate together and everyone's ideas should be heard. I would maybe re-arrange the groups and try to put the less vocal students together so that they may be more inclined to share their ideas.